Newbie Mod Question!

[iredrider1177]

yes lake erie can be very unforgiving in a hurry, a nice place to learn is inside the cleveland breakwall, lots of stuff to look at and space to learn,and your protected from the bigger stuf. and you can always venture out into the main lake from there . the western basin seems to be very rough chop at times, more consistant waves the further east you go. definetly go with a vhf., we have a fixed and a handheld backup. also learn to use your compass, and gps is a wonderful thing!, just my 2C worth

[Hamin' X]

I'd place the henweigh on the list right after the BBQ. Of course, you have to be careful and consider where you will be sailing most: Canadian, or US waters. Metric vs US units. Confusion could be a recipe for disaster.

~Rich

[vizwhiz]

Of course, you need the EPIRB's and all that safety stuff, but I don't even have my sailboat yet, and I've already been looking at picking up a henweigh! It's definitely up there on the list.

[Russ]

Really, in order to know how best for us to spend your money we need to know where you will be sailing. The Great Lakes are small oceans and a completely different place from local inland lakes and bays.

I still believe a VHF is the cheapest (next to a life jacket) piece of safety equipment you can buy. My personal opinion is a mast mounted antenna plus 25 watts of power will get you help better than most other things. The hand held as a backup is pretty good also. Like I said, knowing which way is North does you no good if you don't know which direction safety is. Buy some charts and learn how to use them. I assume it has an anchor. If not, you'll need that with some chain and rode. Fire extinguishers?

If it doesn't have at least a second battery, I'd buy that also coupled with a combiner that will keep your starting battery isolated from the house and charge them both when the motor is running.

After that, the rest all comes down to comfort and cool toys. Oh yea, and you need a henweigh.


--Russ

[hoaglandr]

Thanks for all the advice!

We've already added all the required safety equipment. Life jackets, fire extinguisher and the like. We are signed up to take some sailing classes in the spring and will be taking a boating safety class as well. My son-in-law's father used to sail catamarans and he has been happy to talk sailing. He has told me stories about bringing his cat into the dock under sail, something I'll never have to do! The advantages of having a motor!

For now we will only be on inland lakes. We won't venture out on any larger bodies of water till we have the experience and skill to do so. Lake Erie and Put-in-Bay are only about three hours away so that might be a good place for us to start after we've conquered all the local lakes!

I'm planning to upgrade the anchor as I've read several posts that were not too complimentary of the OEM. I'm thinking of a 16.5 Lewmar Claw with 30' of 1/4" G4 chain and 150' of 3/8 3 ply line. Does that sound about right?

We're also planning to add a pair of house batteries with the requisite charger and combiner as well as a 100W solar panel. I use a CPAP and my wife would like to add a Waeco or Engel fridge. I've decided that I don't really need an inverter as we plan to run everything on 12V. Anything that draws a lot of power can wait till we get home or are moored someplace with shorepower. I've been reading all the mods and am trying to figure out exactly what things I will need to allow for before I start buying parts! I also ordered the "Sailboat Electrics Simplified" by Don Casey as many have suggested to make sure I don't screw anything up.

I'm thinking I really ought to have both mounted and handheld VHF and GPS units before I venture out onto the big water. Which should I get first? Hmm... the chicken or the egg. Maybe I could get the hen to weigh in.....

[Russ]

I'm planning to upgrade the anchor as I've read several posts that were not too complimentary of the OEM. I'm thinking of a 16.5 Lewmar Claw with 30' of 1/4" G4 chain and 150' of 3/8 3 ply line. Does that sound about right?

We're also planning to add a pair of house batteries with the requisite charger and combiner as well as a 100W solar panel. I use a CPAP and my wife would like to add a Waeco or Engel fridge. I've decided that I don't really need an inverter as we plan to run everything on 12V. Anything that draws a lot of power can wait till we get home or are moored someplace with shorepower. I've been reading all the mods and am trying to figure out exactly what things I will need to allow for before I start buying parts! I also ordered the "Sailboat Electrics Simplified" by Don Casey as many have suggested to make sure I don't screw anything up.

I'm thinking I really ought to have both mounted and handheld VHF and GPS units before I venture out onto the big water. Which should I get first? Hmm... the chicken or the egg. Maybe I could get the hen to weigh in.....

All good choices.

This year I bought the 22lb (10kg) claw anchor. I LOVE this thing. It sets immediately and is solid. It's the same anchor my (MUCH heavier) Hunter 34 had and it works great. I think I've got 10' of chain so with 30' you will be golden. As long as you don't anchor in deeper than 30' of water you should be fine.

My personal pref is for a full 25 watt fixed mount VHF with mast top antenna my powerboat buddies drool over. Before you head to the greats, get a handheld.

New to us this year is the Edgestar 12v fridge. See this thread. Our 80w solar panel keeps it cool (40degrees) during the week and recovers our weekend drain (including C-Pap) and lower fridge temps and openings. If you don't have a 12v c-pap, get one. They run on very little juice.

I'm impressed with your plans. It sounds like you are getting all things in order. This site has given me so much information. Use it. Ask questions. It's a great resource with great members.

Now go out and enjoy boating.


--Russ

[hoaglandr]

Yeah, I had read that thread before and found lots of good info there. Worth re-reading. The Edgestar is a possibility as well and I'm not sure the Waeco and Engel fridges are worth the extra costs. Most seem happy with whatever they happen to have.

My ResMed CPAP needs a pure Sine Wave inverter, so we decided just to skip the inverter altogether and go with the 12 volt adapter. Unfortunately the adapter I need is still pricey ($90) compared to some other CPAPs but I imagine it is still more efficient than using an inverter. Actually, now that I think about it, the adapter probably has some kind of mini Sine Wave Inverter built in (hence the cost). I'll need to some more research!

I guess "Russ" is taken so I'll have to sign my post....

Russell

[bigbirdcdl]

With your CPAP & 12 volt. I to did not see the need to spend $$$$ for there adaptor, So with some surfing I found a site that was able to give me the Pos / Neg for the tip & I went to Radio Shack for the adaptor and have used it for more than 4 years with a average of 20 nights a year. Mine is REMstar pro2 model # 1020923, the adaptor is TIP IS + ( positive)
It is up to you I had some worry but took a chance and it worked for me so good luck. Chuck

[Russ]

My ResMed CPAP needs a pure Sine Wave inverter, so we decided just to skip the inverter altogether and go with the 12 volt adapter. Unfortunately the adapter I need is still pricey ($90) compared to some other CPAPs but I imagine it is still more efficient than using an inverter. Actually, now that I think about it, the adapter probably has some kind of mini Sine Wave Inverter built in (hence the cost). I'll need to some more research!

They probably call for pure sinewave because of the electronics and dirty AC power from cheap inverters. The CPAP probably runs natively on some form of DC power. You are right though, the DC to AC and then back to DC is very inefficient. I know it's probably a racket to sell a 12v power cord that is probably easily found elsewhere, but it's still probably worth it to be safe. I did make a 12v power cord for the old CPAP and it worked fine. The current unit has 2 power cord inputs, the AC and one that is 12VDC. It is marketed for RV/Boat use. After spending the 90 bucks it turns out to be a "standard" 12v power cord with no filters/conversion.

I guess "Russ" is taken so I'll have to sign my post....

Russell

Good name. Just sign it ~~Russ

--Russ

[Catigale]

How about

Russ-O for Ohio

and

Mt Russmore

for the guys from Montana??

JK.....

(seriously, sign it as you wish, we will figure it out. Use big type for Scott though..)

[vizwhiz]

I still think it's important for him to get a henweigh...

[Québec 1]

Okay , okay....whats a henweigh?

[kmclemore]

Okay , okay....whats a henweigh?

.... about 5 pounds

[restless]

The more I read this forum, the more I hear looney tunes playing in my head...

[Québec 1]

Okay , okay....whats a henweigh?

.... about 5 pounds

Just couldn't control your self eh!
The proper answer is fresh or frozen?
1